Chapter 94 Chapter 94 "Wu Standard"
Chang Si simply couldn't understand it. This kid had such high scores in the exam and had such an amazing skill, why did he go to such lengths to study agriculture?
He wasn't disparaging his own school. Back in the 1950s, their Agricultural University was one of the six key universities in China, boasting a history comparable to any other prestigious institution. However, in reality, the personal prospects of studying agriculture were not particularly promising.
Of the students who passed the entrance exams during these two years, at least seven or eight out of ten had previous experience working in the countryside to learn about agriculture. Having finally made it through the tough times and gotten into university, they still had to deal with farming. While they didn't express it outwardly, most felt a sense of disappointment. This was especially evident during the freshman year.
But Wu Nian's score was so high that even the professional teachers were surprised. Although this was the second year since the resumption of the Gaokao, it was the first year with a unified national exam format. Over six million applicants were leveled, and the top four hundred thousand were admitted. Leaders at their schools had a rough idea of where their students' scores stood. Frankly, while Wu Nian's score didn't crack the published top ten, its significance was far greater than Lin Xinghuo's top three finish in Beijing last year.
Even Fang Tongjian's old friends and Rong Bocen's former colleagues had sent messages to inquire about the situation, especially an elderly gentleman who was currently the dean of a certain university's School of Archaeology. He was not only an old friend of the two, but also Rong Bocen's senior and leader. He chased the two old men to Sajin Hutong and slammed the table in front of them.
With such talent and background, they chose to major in agricultural machinery, which was completely unrelated to their major. This made the kind-hearted old man point at their brothers and scold them, saying, "You are wasting talent!"
But this was something the family had agreed on long ago. The only thing they probably didn't anticipate was Wu Nian's high scores. Fang Tongjian hadn't dared to show off to his friends this year, but he was able to hide away in peace and quiet in Dongyuan. Uncle Rong, however, had to endure the pain. Mainly because Wu Nian was so well-connected at his workplace, and his impressive scores and unexpected application had become a hot topic. Everyone who saw Rong Bocen sighed and commented. Even the stern old man couldn't stand his sighing preface.
Not to mention the two younger children who had put the two elders through a lot, Wu Nian, for his part, was particularly fond of his profession. He enjoyed refining equipment, but his knowledge of it was limited, whether through the Xinghuo wooden tablet inheritance or his own bloodline memories. It could be said that the ancient artifacts taught by Fang Tongjian and others had indeed given him much inspiration and enlightenment. Recently, Wu Nian had developed a keen interest in puppetry. It's no surprise that modern mechanical technology was actually quite to Wu Nian's liking.
Wu Nian has an amazing talent in this area. Not only has he learned all the relevant inheritances, he has also integrated the magic of the spirits of Long Jia and gradually formed his own weapon path. What he can do now has reached the highest level of weapon refining that a cultivator before the demon pill realm can achieve, and is not much worse than the geniuses of weapon refining ten thousand years ago.
It can not only help Xinghuo, but also is in his own interest. The most important thing is that the Agricultural University is quite close to the College of Traditional Chinese Medicine where Lin Xinghuo is. To be honest, Wu Nian was so happy that he broke through another small realm.
Chang Si yelled, suspecting he was crazy, but Wu Nian wasn't angry. Being famous was good. Only by standing out did your words and suggestions carry weight! Wu Nian had a good idea that he wanted to bring to the teacher at the right time: their department had mechanical professionals, and the neighboring school had a large experimental field. According to Xinghuo, the developed herb garden only accounted for less than a third of it. Wouldn't this be a perfect opportunity for strong alliances and mutual assistance?
Isn't it a bit too narrow-minded to focus solely on one's own university? Could we also foster exchanges between other disciplines like agronomy, animal husbandry, and horticulture? Agriculture and Traditional Chinese Medicine inherently intersect, and turning to experts in traditional Chinese medicine to address agricultural challenges could yield surprisingly positive results. In recent years, international controversy has raged over the overuse of pesticides and fertilizers. Of course, given the current shortage of these two in China, China won't see an overuse problem anytime soon. But with the development and application of related technologies like biological control, plant interactions, green manures, and pure traditional Chinese medicine pesticides, could we avoid the cliché of "application—increased yields—overuse—and consequences" that plagues the foreign world?
Wu Nian hadn't yet considered this deeply. It was Lin Xinghuo whose thoughts were fully developed. In her previous life, she had experienced a period of widespread skepticism about food quality and safety, characterized by "putting down one's cup and chopsticks, unable to eat, looking around at the market in bewilderment." The price difference between agricultural products labeled "green food" and their standard counterparts was unbearable. This even fostered a distorted perception, a form of the absurd "the moon is rounder abroad" myth. Imported, low-quality fruits, vegetables, and grains, rebranded with flashy packaging, easily outperformed the meticulously cultivated products of local farmers. Some, even long-established local specialties, proven by history to have uniquely suited soil and climate, couldn't withstand the pressure of this perception. Countless varieties, once prized tribute in feudal times, gradually disappeared due to their lack of profitability. The market's inability to command high prices for premium products forced farmers to compete on production of low-end products, thus beginning a vicious cycle...
Lin Xinghuo had an ambition, and Wu Nian added fuel to this vision.
The resurgence of spiritual energy and the path of green agricultural products are unexpectedly well-matched! The spiritual rice and spiritual planting initiatives of Buxiantun and Lin Xinghuo Farm are certainly valuable, but widespread green agricultural products can benefit everyone. Buxiantun has proven that when a person's physical fitness reaches a certain level, their chances of developing spiritual roots increase. When this probability is applied to the general population, how many times can the miracle of the little child born with spiritual roots in Buxiantun, named "Chicken Coop," be replicated?
Lin Xinghuo's spiritual plant farm's direction remained the same, but she seemed to have discovered another powerful auxiliary route? This is like "precision guidance" and "wide-ranging nets," with a focus and a general approach. Only by combining the efforts of both can the goal be achieved better and faster.
Among the spiritual plants she owns, there are several varieties that can be used to control pests and fertilize the soil.
For example, the creeping golden moss, seemingly used only for ornamental purposes, glows at night, attracting countless phototactic insects. Though low-grade, as a spiritual plant, it couldn't tolerate the presence of ordinary insects, so the light it emits silently slayed them. Lin Xinghuo planted several of these in the small lotus pond in Master Fang's East Garden. As a result, the koi in the pond ate the insects so well they no longer needed special feeding; they were plump and vibrantly colored. Furthermore, creeping golden moss doesn't harm life beneath the water's surface. Its light, due to its extremely yang nature, also has beneficial effects on humans, animals, and plants in general.
Another example is the ruler wood that seems to be only useful to dragon-blooded monsters. The grade of the one that Lin Xinghuo has planted in the West Garden is not high, but it grows very fast and vigorously. The hard ruler wood can replace many materials with extremely high requirements. While Wu Nian uses it as a snack, the rake teeth made of this thing are better and more durable than those made of fine steel.
If restrictions were completely lifted, the ash from burning bamboo charcoal, a hundred-foot bamboo that can grow ten feet a day and night, would be comparable to low-grade spiritual soil. In terms of fertility, what chemical fertilizer could compare to spiritual soil?
...In the past, Lin Xinghuo cultivated mortal plants into spiritual plants. Now, she has tried to retain certain characteristics of spiritual plants, raising them to the level of mortal plants that would not reach the next level. It's easy to go from frugality to luxury, but difficult to go from luxury to frugality. It's said that spiritual plants are difficult to advance, but easy to decline. However, preserving characteristics while not dying after a decline in level is not as easy as imagined. Lin Xinghuo has only succeeded in one thing: the Hundred-foot Bamboo.
Because she originally cultivated the Baizhang bamboo from the dwarf bamboo that accompanied the Haozhu, she's now shifting gears. This type of bamboo isn't considered a rank, but it's still significantly different from ordinary plants. Just like century-old wild ginseng, which isn't ranked, it possesses significant medicinal properties and spiritual energy. This new plant, simply named "Beiyuan Bamboo" for its resistance to cold and heat, retains its rapid growth and fire resistance. The charcoal produced from it is used as waste ash for land fertilization. The only limitation is that Beiyuan Bamboo can't be planted in spiritually neutral areas, as its growth is affected by the concentration of spiritual energy. Given the resurgence of spiritual energy, this minor flaw isn't a significant issue. Lin Xinghuo has already introduced it to his instructors as a newly discovered "herb," and a team is currently conducting in-depth research.
The wider uses of Beiyuan bamboo beyond its medicinal properties will have to be revealed one by one after Wu Nian enrolls and promotes cooperation between the two colleges. The road ahead is long, but the two young men, Lin Xinghuo and Wu Nian, were still smiling like flowers at the Agricultural University reporting office, as if they had gotten some great deal.
By accident, he left a very good impression on the teacher for Wu Nian.
But after school officially started, his teachers and classmates didn't think so. This guy didn't have the enthusiasm to "dedicate himself to modern agriculture" at all. He was just a "little spoiled husband". He was such a grown man, but he couldn't get used to eating in the cafeteria. He carried a big lunch box every day and ate so much. It couldn't be more infuriating.
But this handsome young man is both shameless and shameless. Before others can recover from his well-received words "It's not my wife who cooked, I'm the one who cooks at home", he starts to attract hatred again!
Wu Nian was very respectful towards his children, but outside of school, he had no sense of dignity as a man. After he became familiar with his classmates, when someone said jealously that he had a good wife who prepared such delicious meals for him every day, Wu Nian naturally said, "I'm the chef at home!"
He was still very proud and didn't realize at all that other people's eyes had suddenly changed when they looked at him.
It's also because the Agricultural University and the College of Traditional Chinese Medicine are relatively close—it can't be helped. During the recent political movements, these two schools were relatively "politically correct," and thus, they were among the few universities that saw significant growth during the 11-year suspension of the college entrance examination. With the inevitable expansion of these schools, their land area increased, not decreased. Thus, the two schools, already located on the outskirts of the city, grew even closer as they expanded. Geographical proximity meant easier and more frequent information exchange, and thus Wu Nian's connection to being the master's son-in-law was naturally exposed.
He had previously said that he was the chef... Taking all factors into consideration, he looked like a son-in-law who had to please the whole family.
However, soon, Lin Xinghuo, Lin Beiguo, Fang Tongjian and others broke this label with practical actions, and at the same time established the strange "Wu standard" that "the chef is the boss".
Anyone who has had the good fortune to taste his cooking will automatically support this standard.
In the golden autumn of October, Xiao Lanqin, who was finally getting married, wanted to ask Wu Nian to make some snacks as gifts for relatives and friends through her second brother Xiao Xijin.
-----------------------
The author has something to say: Add some new content~
Note: I put down my cup and chopsticks, unable to eat, and with my sword drawn I looked around, my heart lost. —Li Bai, "The Hard Road to Travel" (Part 1)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
